All news on this page courtesy of the The Telegraph Newspaper, London, UK

17/March/1998

Clinical tests on Gulf war syndrome

By Will Bennett

BRITISH veterans suffering from Gulf war syndrome are to be clinically tested for the first time as part of a two-year research programme.

The Government said yesterday that it would spend up to £250,000 assessing some of the former Servicemen and women who fought against Iraq in the 1991 war. But veterans' groups and lawyers criticised the Government for doing too little too late to help sufferers.

Symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, respiratory problems and severe depression. Dr John Reid, the Armed Forces minister, said a randomly selected group of veterans would be tested at King's College School of Medicine, London.

But Tony Flint, chairman of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association, claimed that two veterans were dying every month from the syndrome. He said: "We want them to start giving treatment straightaway."